Cockatoo

by Christopher Cummings

  But she gamely kept on pushing herself. Again her eyes watered and she blinked to clear them. Just in time she noted a muddy rut and was able to side step to avoid it. As she did she felt Neville’s fingers grasp at her shirt. Then she heard a strangled obscenity and a loud thud. A glance back revealed Neville tumbling in the muddy wheel rut.

  ‘He’s fallen!’ Tina thought, experiencing a surge of hope. For a few more moment’s she kept on running before her mind took control. ‘You can’t keep running,’ she told herself. She knew she needed to get her breath back, if only to be able to fight. Now she resolved to make Neville pay dearly for her life. Knowing that it might be a potentially fatal mistake she slowed to a walk.

  As Tina strode up the long slope she found her heart hammering so hard that her vision was blurring and black dots danced before her eyes. She was gasping in great shuddering gulps of air and the pain in her side was so intense she had to double up several times in an attempt to ease it. Every few steps she glanced back.

  Neville got to his feet and started after her, cursing and swearing as he did. He called on her to stop but she ignored him and kept going. To her surprise he did not resume running but only followed at a fast walk. It occurred to her that he was winded too and that cheered her enormously. A faint hope of actually escaping began to grow.

  But he was able to walk faster than her and he began to slowly but steadily catch up. Tina’s hopes began slipping again. But she grimly kept trying. The slope levelled out and the track turned left to wind along a ridge top. Out to her right Tina got glimpses of the rocky face of Stewarts Head but it was so far away that it was no more than a familiar landmark rather than a place of hope. Through her mind ran vague hopes of meeting other cadets or of the others following and saving her.

  ‘They must be wondering where I am,’ she thought. She even hoped that they had heard her or even seen her being chased. But whether they would be in time was another matter.

  For at least two hundred paces Tina kept walking. All the while Neville slowly caught up. Tina kept hoping as her breathing slowed and the pain of the stitch eased. But she was also very wary. It was just as well she was because when Neville was about twenty metres behind he suddenly broke into a run. Tina was expecting this and at once fled as fast as she could go. Both broke into a desperate sprint.

  Tina knew within seconds that she was in real trouble. Her body felt like lead and the pain in her side at once returned with almost crippling force. After a hundred paces her heart was thudding so hard she was feeling dizzy. Her breath was again rasping hot gasps. ‘Oh! I can’t go on!’ she thought. But fear of dying kept her trying.

  She came to another track junction. Without hesitation she took what looked to be the better track and went to the left. This led down to a small creek. Before she reached it she cast another frantic glance over her shoulder. Neville was now almost within arms reach, his arms working as they pumped furiously. His face was red and contorted and he was also gasping for air. But there was a pool of water beside the shallow ford that brought back all of Tina’s terror of drowning and it gave her the energy for a frantic effort. She splashed across the ford and started up the slope beyond, driven by absolute desperation.

  At every step she expected to feel Neville to grab her and she tensed to fight. But she managed to hold her lead and suddenly she was aware that he was not breathing down her neck. Another glance showed her what she had not expected at all- Neville had slowed to a gasping walk. He met her eye and uttered a disgusting expletive, then shook his fist.

  “Bitch! Come here!” he croaked.

  Tina felt a surge of hope. ‘He is out of breath,’ she thought. Even so she forced herself to keep running until she had increased her lead to about fifty paces. Then she also slowed to a gasping walk. She was so exhausted by this that she just wanted to flop down and give up but fear kept her leaden arms and legs moving.

  Neville kept following at a fast walk and Tina decided that his tactic now was to exhaust her and then catch up. She gritted her teeth and kept walking. With an effort that she knew was rapidly weakening her she managed to maintain the gap between them.

  As she regained her breath and was able to clear her eyes Tina took stock of the country. It was still forest but the trees were larger and taller and the undergrowth was still waist high or even chest high ferns and long grass. Off to her left the ground sloped slightly downwards to a dense wall of jungle about a hundred metes away. That gave her a vague hope.

  ‘If I could get into the jungle I might be able to hide and sneak away,’ she thought. But her rational mind told her that any attempt to force a track through the weeds and ferns would be her undoing. ‘He will be able to follow the track I make faster than I can make it,’ she reasoned. So she kept on along the vehicle track.

  This wound through the forest with a low ridge on her right. This seemed to block escape in that direction so she began pinning her hopes on the jungle to her left. The chase continued with both walking fast but with Neville still trailing 50 metres or more behind. Tina had no idea where she was and kept hoping she would come to a house or a road. An awful feeling of loneliness now added to her apprehension. Several times she sobbed at the apparent hopelessness of her case.

  Five minutes of fast walking brought only a change of direction in the track. Tina was only vaguely aware of this from a change in the angle of the sun. Its rays were now slanting in through the trees to produce a dappled of light and shade. She felt quite disoriented and could think of no other plan than to keep on along the track.

  Another five minutes of gasping walking brought no obvious change to the situation. To Tina it just seemed to take her further away from her friends and her hopes of rescue went down even lower. Then suddenly she got a flash of hope. She glanced back and saw that Neville had stopped and was crouching down to retie a shoe lace. He was wearing some sort of trainers or joggers she noted.

  It increased her lead to about seventy or eighty paces and as she went round a bend she again considered trying to hide or to try to reach the jungle. But then Neville’s head reappeared over the ferns and she abandoned the idea.

  And then Neville was running again, sprinting to catch her. Tina gasped and fled, the terror welling up again as she doubted if she could keep running much longer. The track wound around the trees now and the grass and ground were wet from dripping mist. Low cloud swirled around her and the chill seemed to grip her heart. Pushing herself with grim determination she ran as fast as she could manage.

  But once again Neville’s lighter build gave him the advantage and he gradually overhauled her. Tina could only gasp and run, tears clouding her vision. That was nearly her undoing as she several times slipped in muddy wheel ruts where the last vehicle along the track had bogged down to its axles in soft patches of ground. But she regained her balance and ran on.

  Once again Neville closed up until he was almost within reach. Tina started to sob and knew what real terror was. But then her heavier cadet boots with their cleated tread were the saving of her. She sped across another set of muddy wheel ruts in a sloshy dip. Behind her she heard a cry of alarm and a thud. Glancing back she saw that Neville’s joggers had not given him the grip he needed on the slippery ground and he had fallen.

  Encouraged to keep trying Tina continued running. This time she did not immediately slow to a walk. ‘I need to increase the lead so I can hide,’ she reasoned. Through eyes clouded with watering from the grit still in them she noted that the jungle appeared closer. ‘I might make it this time,’ she thought hopefully. She glanced back and saw Neville roll over and scramble to his feet. Then, to her joy, she saw him wince and crouch to rub at his ankle. By then he was almost lost to sight in the low cloud. Tina rounded another bend and ran on, her breath again coming in sobbing gasps and pain spreading through her chest and body.

  Ahead of her through the mist she saw that the track forked again. The left fork went into the dark wall of jungle which was now much closer and the
right fork went up over a low ridge in a clearing. The sight of that slope immediately made her mind up. She turned towards the jungle, hope growing with every step as Neville still hadn’t appeared behind her.

  Beside the track she noted a scatter of white feathers. ‘From a white cockatoo,’ she thought without making any mental connection. Another glance behind showed no sign of Neville and for the first time she really did think she might get away. She turned her head to look at the jungle ahead and noted that the cloud between her and it seemed to be thicker than ever. Only at the last moment, much too late to stop, did she recognize her danger.

  ‘A mist net!’ she thought. She tried to stop but was running too fast. To her complete horror she ran into the net. Its soft nylon mesh enfolded her in a clinging chill and she came to a struggling standstill. Terror surged. ‘Caught!” she told herself. The sickening knowledge that Neville was just back along the track swamped her with a sense of hopelessness.

  CHAPTER 36

  COCKATOO

  Tina struggled frantically, sobbing with fear and exhaustion as she did. But her struggles seemed to snare her even tighter. Only by a conscious effort of willpower did she make her self stand still to study the problem. But she was so frightened she had trouble focusing her eyes and she kept flicking her gaze to try to locate Neville. Because she had been spun around she had trouble even working out which way to look and only the dark mass of the jungle and the brightness of the rising sun gave her some orientation.

  ‘Back up!’ she told herself. Gripping the net with both hands to try to untangle it from her waterbottle and belt she worked out which way to move. Shaking with fear she took several cautious steps backwards. As she did she noted a small bird snared high up in the net which was suspended across the clearing by ropes tied up over high branches.

  By turning her head from side to side Tina was able to detect the pattern of the net and saw that her plan was working. So she kept easing back, pausing only to glance back along the track for signs of Neville.

  And there he was!

  He came limping around the bend in the track about fifty paces away. When he saw her predicament his face split into a cruel grin and he began to hobble faster. Panic gripped Tina and she struggled frantically to get free, pulling back hard. This stretched the net but its strength dismayed her. ‘How can a mesh so fine be so strong!’ she thought.

  It looked as though she would be caught and she started to sob and scream. Then she realized that her waterbottle was snagged and she fumbled at her belt. Neville hurried towards her and began to gloat and make obscene promises of what he was going to do to her.

  Total disgust mingled with terror to give Tina strength and calm. She felt the belt snap open and then she was tumbling backwards on the grass. By then Neville was only twenty paces away. Driven by a desperate desire to survive Tina rolled away and scrambled to her feet. Then she bolted, even as Neville broke into a lurching run and reached out to grab her.

  Tina had the jungle in mind as the best place to hide so she ran towards it, running along beside the net which stretched most of the way to the wall of vegetation. The place where the track vanished into a tunnel of vegetation was her objective and she dodged around the end of the net and headed for it- only to swerve and gasp. Movement in the jungle shadows caught her eye and this resolved into the shape of a man.

  And not just any man but Marco!

  Marco was hurrying along the jungle track towards her, his face showing puzzlement. In his right hand he carried a bag and in the left a cage containing a white cockatoo. Tina blanched with terror and felt despair well up. ‘Caught!’ she thought. ‘Trapped between two of them.’

  Still she didn’t give up. She immediately changed direction and ran away from Marco, brushing the net and almost being snagged by it as she did. Just in time she swerved to keep clear. By then Neville was just on the other side and he pushed at the net in an attempt to snag her. His attempt failed but sent her heart rate shooting up so that the blood pounded in her ears. But it did not look as though she had any chance as she was now running up the vehicle track over the low grassy ridge.

  A glance behind showed Marco’s bulky form running up the slope behind her, urged on by Neville who was now limping around the far end of the net. Tina pushed herself to the limit, pounding up the slope. It was only fifty metres but the last bit was steep and she was soon gasping for breath. The only shred of hope came from a backward glance that showed that Marco was no runner. He was too bulky and was not catching up.

  Tina turned her head to look ahead to pick the best route and got another shock. What she had taken to be more low cloud she now saw was another mist net. This was stretched right across the crest of the ridge including the vehicle track. In a flash she noted that she was closer to the right hand end. ‘If I go left I will have to angle back towards Marco,’ she decided.

  So she ran to the right, straight into the rays of the rising sun. These dazzled her and added to her already gritty sore eyes made it very hard to see. She could see well enough to avoid the big trees but realized she had no choice but to run into the long grass and ferns.

  With a sob of despair Tina ploughed into the tangle. Within a few steps she knew she was in trouble. The grass and ferns dragged at her legs and there were even thin vines that snatched at her boots and threatened to trip her up. A glance behind showed she was over the crest by then and that the two men were still out of sight. The thought that she might be able to hide flashed through her mind but she as quickly discarded it.

  ‘They will just follow my tracks and find me,’ she reasoned.

  Again she glanced back. Now she was twenty metres into the tangle and still no sign of the men. She turned her eyes to the front- just in time to spot a fallen log across her path. A frantic jump got her safety across but she only managed another five paces before a vine snagged her left boot. Down she went, her hopes crashing with her.

  Whimpering with shock and fear she tried to scramble to her feet but the vine still held her and she fell again. Frantically she lay on her side and clawed at the ensnaring plant. To her dismay it was too strong to break and she had to try pulling it clear. As always in such situations her haste made it worse as the creeper seemed to snag on every eyelet of her boot.

  Then, just as she was free and had rolled onto her hands and knees preparatory to rising, she heard the sound of thudding boots and of men crashing into the undergrowth.

  “Where’d the bitch go?” Marco called.

  Tina froze and decided to make a virtue of necessity. ‘I will try to hide,’ she thought. So she crouched, panting for breath and trembling in every muscle. Her heart was beating so hard she had trouble hearing but from the sounds deduced that both men were off to her left, Marco closer than Neville. She did not dare raise her head to look but tensed ready for flight.

  The two men crashed on into the weeds until they were almost off to Tina’s left front. Then they stopped. Both swore and Marco muttered, “Where did the bitch go? She can’t be far.”

  “Hiding in the weeds,” Neville suggested. He began to walk around, obviously searching the ferns.

  Tina felt ill as both men began to thrash around the long grass only twenty paces to her left. She managed to get control of her gasping breath and tried to get the wind for another run. But she felt so exhausted and dizzy that she doubted if she could run much more. Then the men began searching in her direction and she half rose and tensed to start running.

  Neville’s voice stopped her from breaking cover. “We are nongs. Let’s find her tracks and follow them,” he said. From the noises Tina decided that he had started walking back towards the vehicle track. Then Marco followed him.

  At the mention of tracking her Tina again felt her hopes slide down. ‘They will find me easily,’ she decided. But still she didn’t give up. ‘I will try to crawl further away,’ she told herself. So she began pushing through the grass and ferns on her hands and knees. It was very unpleasant as the grass
and ferns were dripping with dewdrops and she was soon soaked again. She also found it hard to move without making a noise and could only hope that the sounds of the men’s own progress drowned hers. ‘And I hope they don’t see the tops of the grass moving,’ she thought.

  Only after she had crawled for about ten metres did the thought that there might be snakes in the tangle occur to her. The idea made her pause and shudder but then she kept on. ‘I am dead anyway if I don’t get away,’ she told herself. So she kept pushing through the thick mass of long grass, ferns and vines. The grass scratched her hands and face but she ignored that. Pieces of wet grass also stuck to her sweaty skin and she scraped them away irritably. Then she gave a wry smile at the thought that Graham had crawled through the same sort of tangle to be with her the night before. ‘I’m glad I’m not an army cadet,’ she thought.

  Then the sounds began behind her and the fear flooded back, almost paralysing her. She heard Neville call: “Here we are! Here are her tracks. Come on!”

  There was no doubt in Tina’s mind that they would soon catch her. Now she wrestled with the cruel decision- when to start running? ‘How close do I let them get before I run?’ she wondered.

  A moment’s pause allowed her to gulp more air (She was amazed at how puffed she had become while crawling) and she decided to go early rather than late. ‘Neville has a hurt ankle and I think I can outrun Marco,’ she reasoned.

  So she took a couple of deep breaths and then stood up. They saw her at once and both men yelled out and started running. Tina bolted. Her whole focus was on not tripping again. Her estimate was that the men were 25 metres behind and she focused on keeping that lead. But it was hard. The long grass and ferns dragged at her legs and the vines still snagged at her boots. And to run directly away from the men drove her directly into the rising sun, making it hard to see.